Stretch marks are a common issue amongst women, but they are a part of life. Resulting from pregnancy, puberty, sudden weight gain, or rapid muscle gain, they form when the dermis is stretched beyond its elastic capability. The dermis is the resilient middle layer that helps the skin retain its shape. Eighty percent of pregnant women are affected by stretch marks, making it a common issue.

Even though stretch marks are unsightly, they pose no health hazard to the body. Yet there are steps to stopping them from happening.

The 3 ways to prevent stretch marks:

- Ingest a lot of water throughout the day

- Moisturize your skin daily

- Control your weight gain

Prevent StretchMarks

The first tip is very simple, but you may ask, how does drinking water prevent stretch marks? Further than being very healthy, it helps with the elasticity of your skin. A well hydrated person has more supple skin cells, and more supple skin cells are able to stretch easily. However, a dehydrated person has crackly, itchy skin, and this skin is more prone to stretch marks.

You may have heard tip number two prior to reading this. Numerous doctors recommend that pregnant women moisturize their skin daily with natural skin care lotions in order to prevent stretch marks. It is the most common advice people receive for striae prevention. Daily use of a moisturizer with vitamin E and collagen elastin are great ways to prevent the occurrence of stretching the skin. Some people even rub olive oil on their skin to keep it soft and pliable, a key to easing skin when its stretching.

The third tip makes sense when one understands the other reason behind stretch marks. If the support in the dermis layer of the skin is missing, the result will be stretch marks. Stretching of the skin plays more of a role in where the marks occur and in what direction they run, but stretching alone is not the cause. They can appear anywhere on the body, but are most likely to appear in places where larger amounts of fat are stored. The most common places are the stomach, breasts, upper arms, underarms, thighs, hips, and buttocks. If your body has less fat in these areas then it is less likely that you will get stretch marks. Eating light and working out at least 3 times a week is the way to stop excessive weight gain.